The invention relates to a mobile robot or mobility platform capable of climbing walls.
A number of wall climbing and descending designs exist in the prior art, including designs within the novelty and toy industries. For example, a number of toys have been designed to adhere to walls while passively descending. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,148 discloses a toy having a roller coated with a polymer material of sufficient tackiness to allowing the roller to stick to a wall as it descends. A similar toy is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,008. These toys have significant limitations. First, neither toy is able to ascend a wall. Second, neither toy can remain positioned in a static location on a wall. Finally, these toys cannot make a transition from wall-to-floor or from floor-to-wall.
Similarly, toys have been proposed for ascending walls. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,998 discloses a wall-climbing toy consisting of a series of suction cups mounted on an endless belt. U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,591 discloses a vehicle, not necessarily a toy, that employs a powered vacuum and suction cup arrangement to allow the vehicle to ascend or descend a smooth and non-porous surface. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,572 discloses a toy with a pair of robotic limbs each with a resilient sucker for climbing virtually smooth walls. These toys are significantly limited as to the surfaces on which they can operate. Moreover, these toys cannot make a transition from wall-to-floor or from floor-to-wall.
Climbing robots have also been suggested for tasks unrelated to amusement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,099 discloses an underwater wall-climbing robot used in specialized conditions. The robot uses magnetic wheels, thus limiting its climbing operations to ferrous walls. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,551,525, 5,839,532 and 6,276,481 each disclose a vacuum (powered suction cup) apparatus able to climb smooth and non-porous walls.
As seen the prior art, many wall attachment mechanisms have been used, most commonly suction cups and magnets. These means of adhesion tend to limit the wall surfaces on which each design can be used. For example, magnets are only effective on ferrous surfaces, and suction cups or vacuum designs require a relatively smooth and non-porous surface in order to maintain an appropriate seal.
While the preferred embodiments discussed herein are primarily designed as toys, the robots or mobile platforms of the present invention are able to transverse a number of obstacles. A robot built on such a mobile platform can be used to perform any number of useful tasks including search and rescue, surveillance, environmental monitoring, entry into or placing sensors into restricted or convoluted spaces.
The present invention provides a modified and improved mobility means able to climb walls. In accordance with the present invention a wall-climbing robot comprises a chassis, including an axle mounted substantially normal to the fore-aft centerline of the chassis, a rotor rotatable with respect to the chassis and attached to the axle, the rotor further comprising a prominence, a foot attached to the prominence further comprising a means for adhering to a surface, and an active drive means.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot or mobile platform able to ascend and descend a vertical surface.
It is an object of the invention to provide a robot that is able to make a transition from the horizontal plane (e.g. floor) to the vertical plane (e.g. wall).
It is an object of the invention to provide a robot able to climb walls constructed from any number of materials including porous or rough walls.
It is an object of certain embodiments of the invention to provide a robot able to traverse rough and uneven terrain independent of robot size or terrain features.
It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a remotely controlled robot able to ascend or descend a vertical surface.
It is an object of certain embodiments of the invention to provide a robot able to operate top-away (i.e. erect) from a surface, or top-toward (i.e. upside-down) that surface.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the claims.